StateNews
On track State offers ballot tracking to all voters, settles mailer lawsuit with USPS
by Andrew Kenney & Paolo Zialcita Colorado Public Radio
The agreement comes after the state sued in response to election mailers that the Postal Service recently delivered nationwide. Coloters across Colorado will orado officials called them receive text messages and inaccurate and misleading. emails to keep them upEarlier this week, Griswold dated on the status of their mailed said she would ask the Postal ballot in the upcoming election Service to pay for a new election Previously, only about a quarmailer that outlines the state's ter of the state’s counties offered specific guidelines. Instead, she automatic ballot tracking. Instead, dropped that request in favor of voters in most counties had to log the ability to review materials beonto a state website to check on fore they're sent out nationwide. their ballot. “I am pleased with the settleThe expansion of the Ballotment we reached with the U.S. Trax system makes Colorado one Postal Service,” Griswold said in of five states with a statewide noa press release. “Voters deserve tification program, according to accurate election information. the National Vote At Home InstiThe terms of the settlement tute. Colorado Secretary of State mandate that all reasonable efJena Griswold announced the new fort be taken to remove all unstatewide program last week. delivered misleading mailers “Being able to track our ballot from the mail stream, and it reis something that’s really imporquires collaboration between tant for voters, to give them conthe Colorado Department of fidence and security,” Pam State and the USPS to make sure Anderson, executive director of all future Postal Service commuthe Colorado County Clerks Assonication includes correct inforciation, said. “I think it gives votmation.” ers a great deal of control and The Postal Service also agreed information about the process.” to collect and destroy the massThe state plans to send texts produced election mailers that and emails to people who have Danielle Piscatelli works a ballot-sorting machine at Denver Elections Division headquarters on primary have yet to be distributed in Colbeen automatically added to the night, June 30, 2020. The state expanded its ballot tracking capabilities to all voters, who will receive orado. Gregory Graves, a vice system. Voters can ensure they’re text and email alerts on the status of their ballot in the upcoming election. The software, which was president of operations for USPS, enrolled at colorado.ballottrax.net developed by a Denver firm, will also remind voters to turn in their ballots. /Photo by Hart Van Denburg said 75 percent of the mailers – or they can opt out. were already delivered to houseThe system will notify people holds in the state. tional Vote at Home Institute. when their ballot has been mailed, when it arrives at the Griswold and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser People who used ballot tracking tended to vote at county clerk’s office and when it has been processed. Some slightly higher rates, she said. That may be because Denver said the flyers contained two pieces of misinformation that counties will offer additional information through Intelli- used its system to send out reminders to voters who hadn’t could confuse Colorado voters. gent Mail Barcodes, which allows them to track ballots yet turned in their ballot. “The first is that they urge Coloradans to request a mail within the U.S. Postal Service system. “It becomes this whole communication engine that is ballot or an absentee ballot 15 days before election,” GrisDenver launched the state’s first ballot notification sys- really good for voters,” McReynolds said. wold recently told Colorado Matters. “You don't have to do tem in 2009. Since then, 12 other counties have adopted The state government paid $70,000 of federal grant that in Colorado. You just have to register to vote and similar systems. Those 12 counties are already using the money to cover the cost of the expansion. The state will you're sent a mail ballot. The second piece of misinformasoftware that will now be expanded statewide, while Den- cover the cost of the program going forward, according to tion had to do with when Coloradans had to return the balver is staying on its own Ballot Trace system. Griswold’s office. BallotTrax is operated by the Denver- lot through the mail. The USPS suggested seven days before Real-time ballot tracking could boost people’s confi- based tech company i3Logix. Election Day, and the state of Colorado actually suggests dence in mail ballots while they're under scrutiny. President Meanwhile, Colorado has reached an agreement with eight days before Election Day.” Donald Trump has attacked mail ballots as insecure, the United States Postal Service following a lawsuit filed last This isn’t Colorado’s only court victory over the USPS. though elections experts say that hasn’t been true in mail- week over election flyers. Last week, a federal judge allowed the state to grant a navoting states like Colorado, while Democrats have said that The settlement allows Colorado election officials to re- tionwide injunction to the Postal Service, that would force mail slowdowns could affect ballot delivery. view any USPS materials related to voting, including TV, it to immediately “halt and reverse its drastic operational In Denver, the ballot tracking system may even have radio and online outreach. If the state determines the ma- changes.” n boosted voter turnout, according to Amber McReynolds, terials could confuse Coloradans, it has the right to temFor more from Colorado Public Radio, go to www.cpr.org. the county’s former elections director and CEO of the Na- porarily block their release and request a court review.
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telegraph
Sept. 24 2020 n 7
